SEO: Tips to boost your search ranking

Feb 06, 2014

SEO, short for Search Engine Optimization, describes methods used to increase traffic to a website. This is accomplished by obtaining high-ranking placements on the search-engine results pages (SERPs) of search engines, such as Google®, Yahoo® and Bing®. Obtaining high-ranking placement is important because research shows that the first 10 search results, or page one, receive approximately 90 percent of all click-through traffic. In other words, if you’re not on page one, you only have the potential of reaching 10 percent of all Web traffic.If you’re looking to boost your search ranking to drive more traffic to your site and get more business, you may want to keep reading for some helpful tips and best practices you and your team can implement today.

Top five ways to boost your search ranking
Search engine algorithms, or the mathematical formulas designed by search engines to find, rank and place websites on SERPs, are getting smarter and smarter. These algorithms are able to detect unethical behaviors, such as keyword spamming, keyword stuffing and link building. Companies engaging in these practices can have their ranking negatively impacted for doing so. Below is a list of the top five ways to boost your search ranking, while staying in the good graces of search engines.

Semantic search: Semantic search refers to the artificial intelligence search engines use to understand the intent and contextual meaning of a user’s search. This results in more relevant search results. Semantic search considers factors such as natural language, context, intent, geographical location, synonyms and variations of words. The key takeaway: write quality content that is helpful for your intended audience and you increase the chances that users will find you.

Keywords: Keyword stuffing is bad; however, incorporating relevant keywords your intended audience uses in their search, and incorporating them in the manner that they use them, can effectively boost your SEO. The focus should be on providing consumers with information in the way they are asking for it. If you’re looking for some helpful, free tools to find meaningful keywords, try Google Keyword Planner, Soovle or WordStream® Keyword Tool. It may be helpful to devise a keyword team to comb through your website’s content for opportunities and risks alike. Get your team thinking word-wise while thanking them for their efforts with a Power of Words Desk Calendar or a word Message Magnet.

Content marketing: Content marketing is all about providing fresh quality content that’s relevant and useful to your audience. More simply stated, write good content for people—not search engines—and improve your SEO simply because people will be drawn to your site.

Page authority: Page authority describes the probability that a specific page from your website will be picked up by a search engine. It is based on a logarithmic scale from 0 to 100, which examines the relevance of the information provided as well as links within site pages. The higher the ranking, the better. Assemble a crew to measure the page authority of each page within your site—try using the free tool Open Site Explorer or MozBar. Although page authority ranking is difficult to influence directly, improving overall SEO can help; ask your team to devise a list of suggested improvements. Keep minds fresh and in brainstorming mode with some stimulating baubles, such as bounce-back stress relievers, scented pens and Toss N’ Splat Amoeba Ball.

Social media: Linking your website’s content to industry-relevant social media sites, such as Facebook®, Twitter®, LinkedIn®, Google+®, Pinterest® and/or Instagram®, can boost SEO. Social sharing increases links and traffic—and the more your content is shared, the better it looks in the eyes of search engines. Remember, simply being present on social media isn’t enough; you need to be active. Rally a social media team to regularly contribute to the social media sites you wish to be active on. Just make sure you provide a clear set of guidelines for what is and isn’t acceptable. Imprint a list of what to do and what not to do on a notebook or jotter that can be given to each member of your team. It can double as a place for team members to keep ideas for future posts.

We hope you’ve picked up something from our top five SEO tips. Maybe you can even get started with one or two today. For more information on SEO and the best practices to boost your rank, check out our Blue Papers®.